Teen Articles

Health Care for College Students

College is filled with many opportunities to learn and experience life. You'll be responsible for making your own choices, including choices about your health.Following is important information to help you stay healthy and safe on your new journey.

Contents

A message from your pediatrician

Health care on campus

What to bring to school

Common health problems

Don't ignore these symptoms

Health 101

Taking care of your mental health

A message from your pediatrician

Even though you're in college your pediatrician still cares about your health. You can call your pediatrician any time you have questions. If you live nearby, you can continue to make appointments or come in when you are home on break. You may even want to see your pediatrician for a physical before you start school (your school may even require it).

Health care on campus

If you are going to live on campus, check to see if your school has a student health service. It's a place you can go for medical care, advice, information, and counseling.Student health services are usually well staffed with a variety of health care professionals. They also know pediatricians and other doctors in the area in case you need additional care.

What to bring to school

In addition to the clothes, computer, and other day-to-day items you will need, don't forget to pack

A filled-out health record.

A list of any medicines you take, including their dosages.

A list of your allergies.

A list of any past medical problems (eg, if you had surgery or were in the hospital).

A list of any special needs you might have (such as chronic conditions or disabilities).

A record of any mental health problems.

Your immunization record that shows which vaccines you have had, including the type of vaccine, when you got it, and if you had any side effects.

Proof of health insurance. Are you still going to be on your parents' policy? If so, take a copy of the insurance card with you. Find out what type of plan you have (eg, HMO, PPO), what's covered, how to file claims, and what to do in case of an emergency. Keep in mind that your parents will be notified each time the insurance company is billed for something. Note: As of January 1, 2014, almost all Americans will be required to have health insurance or otherwise pay a penalty. Visit www.healthychildren.org/ACAmarketplace for more information.

First aid kit for small emergencies. Make sure it includes

– Bandages for small cuts and scrapes

– Gauze and adhesive tape

– An elastic bandage for wrapping sprains

– Waterless hand cleaner

– Antibacterial/antibiotic ointment

– A digital (not mercury) thermometer

– An ice pack or chemical cold pack

– Acetaminophen or ibuprofen for aches, pains, and fever

– Other medicines (Ask your pediatrician for suggestions.)

Common health problems

With students living together in dorms and apartments, eating together in cafeterias, and sitting together in classrooms, illnesses and infections can spread easily. Here is a brief guide to common illnesses and what you should do if you get one.

Colds and flu.

These are caused by viruses. While sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between them, colds usually cause milder symptoms than the flu.

Common cold symptoms include

Coughing

Sneezing

Watery eyes

Mild fevers

Flu symptoms include

Higher fever (commonly above 102°F or 39°C)

Body aches

Dry cough

Upset stomach or vomiting

What you can do

The most you can do is rest, drink a lot of fluids, and treat the symptoms. You can try using over-the-counter cold and flu medicines or fever and pain medicines. They may help you feel better. However, do not take aspirin when you have the flu. Your pediatrician or the student health service can suggest which medicines may help your symptoms, as well as answer your questions.

Some types of the flu can be treated with antiviral agents, but you have to take them during the first or second day of the illness, and a prescription is required. They can help you feel better faster.

Prevention

These tips can help lower your risk of getting a cold or the flu.

Wash your hands often!

Get a flu vaccine each fall.

Strep throat, sinus infections, ear infections.

These are caused by bacteria.

Symptoms may include

A very sore throat

Pain in your ears or sinuses

A persistent fever

What you can do

If you have these symptoms, go to the student health service. The staff will be able to tell you what the problem is and give you antibiotics if you need them. If you need to take antibiotics, take them exactly as you are told and be sure to take all of them. If you don't, the infection can come back.

Prevention

Avoid close contact with anyone who has an infection. That means no kissing or sharing drinks or utensils with someone who is ill.

See your doctor for regular checkups.

Meningococcal disease.

A common form of this is meningitis. This disease can infect the brain, the spinal cord, blood, or a combination of these.

Symptoms include

High fever

Stiff neck

Severe headache

A flat, pink, red, or purple rash

Nausea and vomiting

Sensitivity to light

What you can do

It is important to seek medical treatment right away. The disease can be fatal or may result in permanent brain damage or lifelong problems with the nervous system.

Prevention

The meningococcal vaccine is recommended for teens 11 through 18 years of age and for college freshmen living in dorms. The vaccine is effective against most, but not all, strains of the bacteria that cause this infection.

Bruises, sprains, and strains.

These are very common and are usually not very serious. Here's how to tell the difference between them.

Bruises cause the skin to turn purple, brown, or red in color.

Strains are injuries to muscles and tendons that result from too much or sudden stretching.

Sprains are injuries to the ligaments, the connecting tissue between bones.

What you can do

Use the RICE method of treatment.

Rest—especially for the first 24 hours.

Ice—put ice packs or cold gel packs on the injury for 20 minutes every 4 hours.

Compression—wrap the injured body part in an elastic bandage.

Elevation—for example, if you have sprained your ankle, prop your foot up on pillows to keep it at a level higher than your heart.

Visit the student health service if your pain or swelling does not get better in 1 to 2 days or if you are unable to put any weight on the injured area.

Prevention

Being physically active is a great way to stay healthy, but be smart and avoid injuries by

Using the right safety gear (such as pads and helmets).

Warming up and cooling down. Stretch out before and after you exercise or play a sport.

Taking breaks. Don't exercise or play through pain.

Mononucleosis ("mono").

College students often worry about a disease called "mono"—also known as "the kissing disease." Mono is caused by a virus.

Symptoms include

Fever

Sore throat

Headache

Swollen lymph nodes (glands) in the neck

Extreme tiredness

What you can do

If you have a sore throat or bad flu that doesn't go away in a week to 10 days, see your doctor. Mono is diagnosed by a blood test called the monospot test. There is no specific treatment for mono; just get plenty of rest and eat a healthy diet.

Health 101

Keeping yourself healthy is the best way to avoid getting sick.

Three important things you can do are rest, eat well, and exercise.

Rest

Sleep is important because

Your body cannot fight off germs as well when you are tired and run-down.

You are more likely to feel stressed or become depressed.

You may have a hard time staying awake in class.

You may have trouble concentrating on papers and tests.

Try to get about 8 to 9 hours of sleep a night whenever you can.

Eat well

Vending machine food or fast food may be quick and cheap when you are busy and on a budget but eating well is important. Try to remember to

Eat fruits and vegetables every day (your goal should be 5 fruits, vegetables, or both a day).

Strengthening exercise tones and builds muscles and bone mass. You can do this by doing sit-ups, push-ups, and leg lifts or by working out with weights or resistance bands.

Stretching exercise, such as yoga, improves your flexibility or range of motion.

Don't have time to work out? There are many ways to sneak exercise into your day. For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator. If you are not used to exercising or if you have a chronic health problem, talk with your pediatrician or the student health service before starting an exercise program.

Don't ignore these symptoms

Call the student health service right away if you have

A fever of 102°F (39°C) or higher

A headache and a stiff neck

Pain with urination

An unusual discharge from your penis or vagina

A change in your menstrual cycle

Pain in the abdomen that will not go away

A persistent cough, chest pain, or trouble breathing

Pain or any other symptoms that worry you or last longer than you think they should

Taking care of your mental health

Starting college can be stressful. You may be away from home for the first time. Maybe you miss your family and friends. And it may take you time to adjust to new surroundings, new teachers, and new friends. All these things can make you feel alone, overworked, and stressed out. Following is information concerning your mental health.

Making friends

Friends usually become your main support system while in college. In fact, college friends often become close friends for life.

You may be worried about how you will make new friends. You will probably meet some people you like in the first few days of school, and you will meet more in your classes, in clubs or sports, and through other friends. If it takes a while to find people you click with, don't worry; it will happen.

Roommates can be terrific friends or great sources of stress. Even roommates who like each other will clash over things like cleaning, bedtimes, and music. Talk these things over early on and you will be less likely to have problems later. If you and your roommate just can't get along, talk with your resident advisor (RA) about how to handle your roommate problem.

Missing home

Many students miss home—even those who've been away from home before. Feeling homesick doesn't make you less mature or mean that you are not ready to be on your own; it just means you are human! Here are a few tips that may help.

Talk with your friends about it. Chances are they're feeling the same way.

Keep in touch with family and friends back home, but make sure you develop new relationships at school.

Still having trouble? Try talking with a counselor.

Also, remember that going home for visits may be hard. You've changed. Your family has changed. Even your home friends may have changed. Old conflicts don't disappear and new ones may come up. Again, if things are too stressful for you to handle alone, talk with a counselor.

Dealing with depression

There will be days when you feel down, when the pressures of college life really get to you. Those feelings are normal. When you feel down, take some time out for yourself and do something that makes you feel good. Spend time with friends. Exercise. Read a good book.

Sometimes, though, feeling down can turn into depression. Depression is a serious illness that can be treated. If you have had any of the following symptoms for 2 weeks or more, see a counselor right away:

Sad mood

Hopeless, helpless, worthless, or guilty feelings

Loss of pleasure in things you usually enjoy

Sleep problems

Eating problems

Low energy, extreme tiredness, lack of concentration

Physical symptoms such as headaches, stomachaches, or body aches that do not respond to treatment

If at any time you have thoughts of death or suicide, seek help immediately. Do not think you can handle depression on your own. If one of your friends seems depressed, suggest that he or she see a counselor as soon as possible.

Drinking responsibly

Drinking is a huge problem on most college campuses. Most college students drink and a large number drink too much. Binge drinking (having 5 or more drinks in a short time) is common among both guys and girls.

Heavy or binge drinking can lead to physical illness, long-term drinking problems, and even death. Drinking is known to increase sexual aggressiveness, which can lead to sexual harassment and date rape. Drinking also clouds your judgment. You can't think straight when you're drunk. You're also more likely to make unhealthy choices such as having unsafe sex, which may lead to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unwanted pregnancies.

The legal drinking age in the United States is 21. The best way to prevent drinking-related problems is to not drink. If you are 21 and choose to drink, be smart. That means

Stop after 1 or 2 drinks.

Don't drink and drive.

Don't let friends drink and drive.

Don't ride with someone who has been drinking.

Don't drink with people you do not know.

If you feel you need to cut down on your drinking, if friends are concerned about your drinking, or if you ever feel guilty about something you have done while drinking, see a counselor at school.

Making healthy decisions about sex

College is often a time when young people begin to explore their sexuality. But this doesn't mean everyone in college is sexually active. In fact, many are not. If you want to wait to have sex, you are not alone. Lots of people your age have realized it's a great idea to wait until they are older.

No matter what your decision is about sex, be smart about it. Don't do things that will put your health at risk. Remember, having sex can expose you to STIs such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, or HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Use a reliable form of birth control, and remember that only barrier protection with condoms will prevent transmission of infection. One type of disease called human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cancers of the mouth and throat, cervix, and genitals in teens and adults. There are 2 types of HPV vaccine: one for females and one for females and males. The more sexual partners you have, the greater your risk. Not having sex is the only sure way to prevent these infections.

College may also be a time for sorting out your sexual identity. If you are questioning your sexual identity, talking with a counselor may help. Many colleges have support and social groups for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students or for students still trying to sort things out. These groups can help students feel less isolated.

Take care of yourself and good luck!

The persons whose photographs are depicted in this publication are professional models. They have no relation to the issues discussed. Any characters they are portraying are fictional.

Listing of resources does not imply an endorsement by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP is not responsible for the content of external resources. Information was current at the time of publication.

Is Your Child Sick?TM

The information contained in these topics is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. You assume full responsibility for how you choose to use this information.

Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider before starting any new treatment or discontinuing an existing treatment. Talk with your healthcare provider about any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Nothing contained in these topics is intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment.

Not a Substitute - The information and materials on this website and RemedyConnect's content (Including but not exclusive of: Illness/Symptoms, Is Your Child Sick? Medicine Dosages, Medical Conditions) should not be used as a substitute for the care and knowledge that your physician can provide to you.

Supplement - The information and materials presented here in HouseCalls Online are meant to supplement the information that you obtain from your physician. If there is a disagreement between the information presented herein and what your physician has told you -- it is more likely that your physician is correct. He or she has the benefit of knowing your medical problems.

Limitations - You should recognize that the information and materials presented here in HouseCalls Online have the following limitations, in comparison to being examined by your own physician:

You can have a conversation with your doctor.

Your doctor can perform a physical examination and any necessary tests.

You could have an underlying medical problem that requires a physician to detect.

If you're taking medications, they could influence how you experience various symptoms.

If you think that you are having a medical emergency,
call 911 or the number for the local emergency ambulance service NOW!

And when in doubt, call your doctor NOW
or go to the closest emergency department.

By using this website, you accept the information provided herein "AS IS." Neither RemedyConnect nor the providers of the information contained herein will have any liability to you arising out of your use of the information contained herein or make any express or implied warranty regarding the accuracy, content, completeness, reliability, or efficacy of the information contained within this website.

RemedyConnect, Inc. has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to your privacy. The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for this website: http://www.remedyconnect.com.

Acquisition of Information through PMD

We do not acquire any more information about website visitors than is required by law or is otherwise necessary to provide a high level of service efficiently and securely. Our site's registration form requires users to give us contact information (e.g., their name and e-mail address) and demographic information (e.g., children's birth months, but not birth dates). We use customer contact information from the registration form to (1) send the user pertinent medical and parenting information and (2) allow your local health provider lists of who is registering on that provider's site as a parent/guardian, staff member, doctor, or visitor. Users may opt-out of receiving future mailings; see the choice/opt-out section below.

We use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer our Website. Your IP address is used to help identify you and to gather broad demographic information.

Demographic and profile data is also collected at our site. We may use this data to tailor the visitor's experience at our site, showing them content that we think they might be interested in, and displaying the content according to their preferences.

Our site may use order forms to allow users to request information, products, and services.

Your Doctor's Right to Privacy

We will respect your doctor's right to privacy. A doctor typically does not give his/her e-mail address to the parents/guardians of patients. We will not provide the e-mail addresses of doctor(s) in the local practice to users of their site without the doctor(s)' permission. Their site is restricted to use by whomever they wish, and they may deny access to their site to one or more prior users. In unusual cases, doctors may change their private site's access code and arrange for us to e-mail the new access code to approved users.

Cookies

We use cookies to deliver content specific to your interests and to save your doctor's access code so you don't have to re-enter it each time you visit your doctor's site on http://www.remedyconnect.com.

Links

This site contains links to other sites. RemedyConnect.com is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Websites. See Disclaimers.

When we make our technology or services available to business partners, we will not share with them any more consumer information than is necessary, and we will make every reasonable effort to assure, by contract or otherwise, that they use our technology and services in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy.

Public Forums

This site may make chat rooms, forums, message boards, and/or news groups available to its users. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information.

Security

This site has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control. For further information regarding our security, please contact us at support@remedyconnect.com. If you have any concerns regarding the security of information, please do not provide any information to RemedyConnect, Inc. until you are comfortable with our security measures.

Correct/Update

You may correct or update your User Registration information at any time, by visiting the User Registration section and providing your personal password that you set at registration. If need be, please email us at support@remedyconnect.com.

Choice/Opt-Out

Our site provides users the opportunity to opt-out of receiving e-mail communications from our partners or us, except communications approved by your doctor's practice office. To so opt-out, please email us at support@remedyconnect.com. To be removed as a user, please email us at the same address. If need be, you may mail requests to us at RemedyConnect, Inc.

Contacting the Website

If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this Website, you can contact us by email at support@remedyconnect.com or by mail at our address above.